A
A young British sailor was missing at sea yesterday in similar circumstances(情况)to the way his father died five years ago.
The dinghy(救生橡皮船), used to take Richard Smith, 21, to his yacht(快艇), was discovered empty, floating in seas off the Caribbean island. An air and sea search was carried out but he has still not been discovered.
Richard’s mother, Bicknell, said from her home in Hampshire, “It’s so much coincidence. Richard always carried a photograph of his father attached to a poem, which included the date of his disappearance. ”
Now, it’s very strange because all they have found is Richard’s dinghy. We need to know this time what has happened one way or another. If you know at least you can go through the grieving process.
In November 1996, Mr Smith’s father, Charlie, was sailing in the Tasmen sea between the Australian mainland and the island of Tasmen with his new wife. They lost radio contact with the shore and they, together with their yacht were never seen again, and their disappearance remains a mystery.
Richard is described a talented and experienced sailor who has crewed for the champion ocean racer. He had sailed to the Caribbean in November to crew ocean racing yachts for entertainment. He ended the evening drinking in the Abracbabra bar but left after local police closed it for being too noisy.
About 2 am the following day Richard headed back for his dinghy. He started its outboard motor before giving an elderly woman a lift to her yacht after her dinghy had gone missing. It was the last time he was seen.
【语篇概述】一名英国水手莫名失踪, 至今杳无音信。巧合的是, 他的父亲也是以同样的方式消失不见的, 他们失踪前都发生了什么呢? 本文给大家讲述了这个离奇的故事。
1. Richard Smith was ________in 2000.
A. ten B. fifteen C. twenty D. eighteen
【解析】选C。推理判断题。根据第五段得知, 史密斯的父亲是在1996年失踪的, 第一段提到“his father died five years ago”, 因此史密斯失踪于2001年。第二段第一句话提到史密斯失踪时21岁, 因此2000年时他20岁, 正确答案为C。
2. People searched for Richard using ________.
A. ship only B. ship and radio
C. ship and plane D. yacht and car
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句“An air and sea search was carried out but he has still not been discovered. ”(空中搜查和海上搜查都没有找到他。)得知正确答案为C。
3. According to the passage, we know Richard disappeared because ________.
A. he was a green hand in sailing
B. some unknown animal attacked him
C. there was a maze in the area he was sailing
D. of something we don’t know
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据第一段中“in similar circumstances to the way his father died”得知, 史密斯失踪的情况跟他父亲相似; 第五段最后一句提到“their disappearance remains a mystery”得知, 他父亲失踪的原因未明, 因此, 史密斯失踪的原因也是不为人知的。因此答案为D。
4. The writer mainly tells us ________.
A. a story about two heroes
B. a piece of news about a merchant ship
C. a coincidence
D. the dying process of Richard
【解析】选C。主旨大意题。根据文章结构及内容得知, 作者给我们讲述了一个巧合的失踪案, 因此得出答案为C。
